Consumer panel

The great majority of consumers who have used legal services are satisfied with the outcome, although many do not feel they received good value for money, a survey has found. Worryingly for lawyers likely to face competition from trusted brands after October, however, it suggested significant public distrust of lawyers.

The role of price comparison and customer review websites are set to come under scrutiny from the Legal Services Board as part of efforts to help consumers judge the technical quality of the legal advice they receive. It will also consider whether a “badge” would distinguish regulated and non-regulated providers.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority’s application to become a licensing body for alternative business structures has been endorsed by the Legal Services Board’s consumer watchdog, but with reservations. The Legal Services Consumer Panel expressed disappointment that some recommendations it made during consultations were not adopted.

A groundbreaking assessment of the progress in delivering the legal services reforms from a consumer perspective is the centrepiece of the Legal Services Consumer Panel’s plan for the forthcoming year, delegates at today’s Legal Futures Conference will hear. The idea of a “single regulatory badge” will also be floated, along with good practice standards for legal comparison websites

The battle over whether the Legal Services Board, its consumer panel and the Legal Ombudsman can retain their own websites continues, with the sites not closing at the end of last month as the Ministry of Justice had originally instructed.

The board of the Legal Ombudsman has put off until spring 2012 the decision on whether to name law firms on the receiving end of complaints, a move condemned by the Legal Services Consumer Panel.

Regulators of alternative business structures could expose consumers to risk if they demand an overly high standard of proof in disciplinary hearings, the Legal Services Consumer Panel has warned. Meanwhile, the Bar Standards Board is to consider switching to a civil standard of proof.

The Cabinet Office has refused to confirm whether it is going ahead with shutting down the websites of the Legal Services Board, Legal Ombudsman and Legal Services Consumer Panel after a strong attack in the House of Lords last night that claimed it threatens the independence of the legal profession.

Consumers believe that a lawyer who has provided a bad service should be “named and shamed”, research released today has found. However, there are signs that consumers are likely to use published information “in a way that may be at odds with the Legal Ombudsman’s reasons for publication”.

More information to help consumers select a solicitor, freedom to choose a lawyer under legal expenses insurance, and the regulation of contingency fees are all areas where the profession and the public should work together, a leading consumer champion claimed last week.